My daughter plays golf and recently at a tournament she found herself hitting a ball behind a tree.  It’s so frustrating.

When this happens you have to decide whether to try get around the tree if you can or take a penalty and move the ball away from the tree… or basically hit the ball backwards to get in a better position.  Just the thought of going backwards is very frustrating.

A teammate tried to help my daughter look at her options and gave her some good ones but she still was unsure.  A real bonus for my daughter was that the coach was nearby and came to help.  He helped her decide on the best option.  Hitting it backwards… but into the fairway so she would be set up for a really good next shot.

As I thought about this, it made me consider in life when we come against a tree… or something else where we just can’t go forward and we have to make a decision about what to do…. And there really is no good choice.  Sometimes the best thing to do is just stop move back and get rid of the obstacle in front of us before we move forward.

Maybe for some this is an addiction.   Maybe it’s a toxic person in your life.  Or just the results of bad decisions.  Stopping… taking a step back and getting on good ground is the best choice.  And hopefully there’s a “coach” in your life that can help show you the best way.

Also remember this, people who see your situation… completely understand that even if you’re going backwards… you’re making the right decision.  Just like in golf… ANY golfer who understands the situation knows the only thing to do (with a good result) is to stop and move back to get yourself in a better place to go forward.

Don’t be ashamed to stop… move to a better place… and be prepared to go forward the right way.